Fans Outraged Over Trump Administration Using ‘Wicked’ Music to Hype Deportations

The Trump administration found a new way to make deportations go viral — and this time, they dragged “Wicked” into it. The White House’s official TikTok account posted a video celebrating ICE arrests using Cynthia Erivo’s version of “Defying Gravity” from the “Wicked” movie, turning a queer-beloved anthem of self-acceptance into a soundtrack for detention and deportation.Now fans, musicians, and immigration advocates are all slamming the administration. 

The Trump Administration Tried Defying Gravity — but Failed

The video appeared on the White House’s verified TikTok, which Trump’s team launched in August despite ongoing concerns in Congress about the app’s Chinese ownership. On Nov. 21, the administration posted the clip, and it raised eyebrows the moment it went live.

The clip opens with Trump walking through the White House in slow motion, smiling like it’s a campaign ad. Over that, you hear Erivo belting “Defying Gravity,” labeled as “original sound – The White House” on TikTok, which means the audio was uploaded directly instead of pulled from a commercial sound library. The screen flashes the text “Ahh that deportation feeling…” before cutting to ICE officers chasing people, handcuffing them, and loading them into vans and onto planes. The caption, “holding space for this,” references the viral “holding space for ‘Defying Gravity’” meme from the “Wicked” press tour with Ariana Grande, Erivo, and journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist.

Fans quickly called the ICE video dystopian, disrespectful, and absurd. Many questioned how the official White House account thought it was acceptable to meme deportations using a queer-coded song. “This country is a joke,” one person commented. Another wrote, “I feel offended and I’m on a whole different continent.”

This Isn’t the First Time Trumpworld Has Hijacked Pop Songs for Deportation Content

The Wicked clip is just the latest entry in a messy pattern. Trump’s administration keeps grabbing popular songs — especially ones that go viral on TikTok — and dropping them into government posts about deportation and immigration enforcement, often without the artists’ blessing.

In July, the White House used the viral Jet2Holidays TikTok sound — which features Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” and the line “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” — over footage of migrants being handcuffed and forced onto a deportation flight. The caption read, “When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!” Glynne blasted the post as soon as she learned her song was involved. “This post honestly makes me sick,” she wrote on her Instagram stories, according to Variety. “My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity — never about division or hate.”

Olivia Rodrigo also called out the Trump administration and DHS for using her song “All-American B***h” in a joint Instagram video that showed ICE officers detaining people and encouraging “self-deportation.” “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” Rodrigo wrote, per Entertainment Weekly. The clip sparked outrage and led Instagram to pull the song from the video. Rodrigo has already removed other tracks from TikTok in the past after Trump content used them, according to NME. She previously wrote “Ew don’t use my sound ever again ty” when Trump used “Deja Vu” in a victory post after the 2024 election.

Should artists have more control over how their music is used in political messaging? Comment below!

The post Fans Outraged Over Trump Administration Using ‘Wicked’ Music to Hype Deportations appeared first on LBS.